Garment.



L. GOLDPINGER.

GARMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1913.

i1 98,034; Patented May 26, 1914.

COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. c.

LEOPOLD GOLDFINGEB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

Application filed June 27, 1913. Serial No. 776,074.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD GOLDFINGER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garments, of which the following is a specification.

The main objects of this invention are to provide an improved garment adapted for self-adjustment at the waist to fit wearers of diiferent sizes and to give freedom of movement; to provide a dress of ordinary belted appearance having resilient, yieldable means at the waist adapted to automatically adjust the garment to fit the wearer; to provide a dress with overlapping belt members arranged in combination with concealed extensible spring members adapted for adjusting the waist; to provide a wash dress with readily attachable and removable elastic tension means adapted and arranged for distributed gathering of the waist for self-adjustment; and to provide a dress with elastic tension means adapted to gather the middle back portion at the belt line, in combination with overlying elastic belt means of tasty appearance adapted to gather the dress at the sides of said middle portion.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the back of a dress fitted with an improved waist adjuster. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the belted portion of the dress shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front view showing a preferred form of vertical overlapping edges adapted and arranged for opening and closing thegarment in front. Fig. 4: is a horizontal cross section on the line AA of Figs. 2, 5, and 6. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross section on the line BB of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross section on the line CC of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a detail cross section showing one form of waistband construction. Fig. 8 is a similar cross section showing another form of waistband construction. Fig. 9 is an enlarged view of one of the side springs, part of the spring being broken away, and terminal connecting means associated therewith.

In the construction shown, a garment made in the form of a dress, and comprising a waist 1 and a skirt 2 constructed substan tially integrally, and arranged to open from top to bottom in front, and having a strap member or waistband 3 sewed thereto for encircling the waist, is provided with selfadjusting means consisting of a middle gathering member or spring 4 and a belt 5 comprising two side gathering complemem tary parts 6 and 7 overlapping and detachably fastened by suitable connections to the sides and rear portion of the garment.

The waistband 3 is formed and adapted at the back and sides of the dress for detachable connection of said gathering members 4c and 5 and is provided with longitudinal tunnels 8, 9, and 10 adapted to house the middle gathering member and certain of the belt connections respectively.

The waistband may be made in various ways, the form shown in Fig. 7 being preferred for its simplicity. In this construction, the upper edge of the skirt is turned down eXteriorly and sewed against the inner side of the lower edge portion of the waist, as shown at 12. A suitable strip 15 having its edges turned in is sewed against the outer sides of the waist and skirt respectively, as at 17 and 18, on opposite sides of the waist and skirt, thus providing a waistband 3 of beltlike appearance. If preferred, the waist and skirt may be formed integrally as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 with the waistband 3 and the above mentioned tunnels sewed thereto, or the adjacent edges may be spaced apart somewhat and connected by means of a pair of waistband strips 21 and 22 disposed on the outer and inner sides and having the edges turned inwardly against the adjacent edges of the skirt and waist respectively, as shown in Fig. 8. The said tunnels are formed longitudinally in series along the inner side of the waistband, one of them 8, being in the middle of the back for housing the middle gathering spring 4, and the others, 9 and 10, being provided one on each side for housing the belt terminals or springs 24. Each tunnel preferably consists of a strip of suitable material, as cloth, arranged longitudinally along the center line of the waistband and having its edges sewed to the waistband as at 25. The tunnels are preferably closed at the ends by a transverse seam, as at 27, although such closure is not essential, and in some cases it may be deemed preferable to leave the ends open in order to further facilitate removing the springs.

Perforatio-ns 29, preferably of the nature of button-holes are formed in the waistband,

one adjacent to each end of the several tunnels and communicating with the interior of said tunnels for introducing and removing the springs and for attaching the belt members.

The middle athering member 4 ma be constructed of any suitable resilient yielding material, a coiled metal spring of spiral or helical shape being preferred as most convenient to manipulate in attaching to and removal fro-1n the garment, and particularly for threading through the tunnel 8. The spring 4 is formed or provided with suitable terminals and buttons 31 are provided for attachment thereto, at least one end of said spring being adapted for detaching the buttons therefrom to facilitate threading the spring through the tunnel. The buttons may be of any suitable form, but preferably a pearl button having a perforated shank as shown in Fig. 9, is used as it presents a neat appearance and is convenient.

The belt 5 is preferably arranged to extend only from side to side around the back of the garment and the two complementary overlapping parts 6 and 7 are adapted and arranged for relative reciprocating move ment for length adjustment. Each member 6 and 7 is provided with a button-hole 33 at its outer and forward end and at its opposite or inner end is provided with suitable fastening means, as a hook The said belt members are arranged to cross each other at the middle of the back, one of said members 7 being formed adjacent to its inner end with a perforation or passageway to admit of free reciprocation of the complementary member 6 therethrough. To this end the perforated member is formed with a broad buckle-like appendage 36 sewed as at 37 to the inner end of the part which extends forward, comprising a long portion 39 arranged to lie on the back side, and a relatively short portion 40 centrally disposed thereon and extending from side to side, said portions 39 and 40 being sewed together at their upper and lower edges respectively as at 43 and 44, and providing a longitudinal perforation or passage 45 adapted to receive the complementary belt member.

In order to provide for self-adjustment of the length of the belt according to the waist of the wearer, the helical springs 24 are provided, adapted for connection to the hooks 35 at the inner ends of said belt members and adapted for housing within the side tunnels 9 and 10, said springs having buttons attached at their opposite or outer ends, preferably like the buttons 31 on the middle spring 4, and adapted to engage and extend through the forward button-holes 29 on the waistband, and to engage the button-holes 33 on the forward extremities of the corresponding belt members. The buttons are all preferably removable, so that the belt as well as the rest of the garment may be laundried.

Suitable guide members, as vertical straps 47, are provided on the back of the garment for holding the belt in place.

Provision is made for opening the dress in front, as indicated in Fig. 3, the opposite edges or flaps 49 and 50 being correspondingly offset at the belt line, as shown at 51, and being provided with buttons 53 to secure the overlapping edges together.

The provision of a waistband formed substantially as shown, gives strength to the garment and adds to its appearance, though if it is omitted the tunnel strips may be sewed directly to the main body of the garment and the button-holes may be formed in the body of the garment.

lVhen the dress is to be laundried, the buttons and springs are removed by unbut toning the forward ends of the belt and disconnecting the opposite ends of the belt sections from the coacting springs, whereupon the belt and spring members are freely. .removable. The middle gathering spring is also removable by disconnecting one end from the adjacent button and then withdrawing the spring by pulling on the other button. By reversing this operation the parts may be assembled, first putting the middle spring 4 in place and securing it by means of the buttons. The belt springs are then inserted, after which the overlapping belt sections are assembled, one projecting through the slot in the other, their inner ends being connected to the inner ends of the side springs and their outer ends being secured to the side buttons to which the outer ends of the side springs are secured. The garment is preferably arranged and the several parts proportioned and adapted to provide for variation of from four to six inches in waist size, the middle gathering spring and the expansible belt being adapted to provide for this. By this invention a dress made according to a normal or stand ard size and pattern may be worn by a person of somewhat abnormal size or proportion.

Although but one specific embodiment of this invention is herein shown, it will be understood that numerous details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of this invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A garment having elastic waist gathering means attached to the back, in combination with a belt adapted to overlie and conceal the said gathering means, said belt having overlapping Visible inelastic portions and underlying elastic portions. 7

2. A garment having a waistband, in combination with elastic gathering means attached to said waistband at points spaced apart on the back, and supplementary gathering means of belt-like appearance overlying the first mentioned means, said outer gathering means being formed and adapted for telescopic adjustment.

3. In a garment, a waistband secured at the belt line in combination with a twopiece overlapping belt attached at its outer ends to opposite sides of the garment at the waistband, one of said belt members having a passageway medially thereof adapted to receive the other belt member for crossing the same, and resilient tension members connecting the opposite ends respectively of said belt members with corresponding side portions of the waistband.

A. In a garment, a readily detachable belt consisting of a pair of substantially inclependent parallel sections, each comprising an elastic tension member at one end at tached to a non-elastic member constituting the opposite end, said garment having tunnels along its waist line at each side for housing and concealing said elastic members, and detachable buttons at the remote ends of said tunnels adapted and arranged for securing to the garment at the waist line and to the adjacent ends respectively of both belt sections. 1

5. In a device of the class described, a waistband having a pair of button-holes spaced apart longitudinally, in combination with a detachable two-piece belt comprisinga pair of overlapping sections each of which at one end is formed of elastic material, said waistband having a pair of perforations between said button-holes one adjacent to but suitably spaced from each of said buttonholes, said belt sections being formed and adapted to cross each other and to extend through said perforations respectively with the elastic ends concealed inside of the waist band, and buttons on said elastic ends for engaging said button-holes, the opposite ends of said belt sections respectively having button-holes for attaching the belt ends to the adjacent buttons.

6. A garment in combination with a belt, comprising two overlapping sections arranged with their outer ends secured to the garment and with their'inner ends crossed and disposed back of the complementary sections respectively, and resilient yielding means connecting the inner ends to the garment.

7 A garment, comprising a substantially integral waist and skirt in combination with concealed means adapted and arranged for gathering the garment at the belt line, said means comprising a helical spring in combination with buttons attached one at each end, said garment having button-holes formed therein and suitably spaced apart to receive said buttons, substantially as de scribed.

8. A self-adjustable wash garment having a tunnel formed within and extending along the rear at the waist line, an opening at each end thereof, a resilient tension member adapted to occupy said tunnel for normally gathering the waist, and terminal means adapted for securing said tension member at said openings, said terminal means being adapted to facilitate removal of said tension member when the garment is to be laundried.

9. A self-adjustable wash garment having a tunnel formed within and extending along the rear at the waist-line, and button-holes formed in the waistband adjacent to the ends of said tunnel and opening thereinto, in combination with a coiled metallic spring having buttons at the ends thereof adapted for coaction with said button-holes, at least one of said buttons being readily detachable from said spring to facilitate removal of the spring from said tunnel, and said spring being adapted for pushing into place into and through said tunnel for assembling, substantially as described.

10. A garment comprising a waistband formed substantially integral therewith, in combination with a two-part belt comprising overlapping portions, one of the parts havadapted to receive the complementary part,

and having the appearance of an integral belt of ornamental character when the parts are assembled, the outer exposed ends and the inner concealed ends being adapted to be detachably secured to said waistband at opposite sides, said inner ends being adapted for automatically varying the length to fit substantially as described.

11. A garment having a waistband in combination with a belt comprising two complementary parallel overlapping members, each consisting of a non-elastic portion at one end and an elastic portion at the opposite end, said complementary members being arranged with the elastic end of one member adjacent to the non-elastic end of the complementary member, the extremities of said members being adapted for detachable connection to each other and to said waistband.

Signed at Chicago this 24th day of June,

LEOPOLD GOLDFINGER. lVitnesses:

FRED M, DAVIS, M. IRENE HU'rcHINGs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

